Dear NAWBO-Silicon Valley,
As most of you know, July 1 begins the new fiscal year for NAWBO (both nationally and here in Silicon Valley). It is the official passing of the baton from one board of directors to another; the start of the implementation of a new strategic plan, and a chance to evaluate. The incoming board of directors for fiscal year 2015/2016 held its annual strategic planning retreat in late June. This is a great group of women business owners ready to shake thing up a bit at NAWBO-SV. You’ll see many familiar faces on this board, and a few new ones. Before I share what’s coming up – let’s give another big thank you to Maxine Goulding, our outgoing President, for the amazing job that she and her board did for our organization last fiscal year!
Now, here are some things you can expect to see in the upcoming year, beginning this month!
First, we have built in more of the social and networking events that our members have told us they really like. While our educational speaker presentations will still feature informative speakers, not every meeting will be in that format. Every quarter, we plan to have at least one meeting dedicated to networking, without a keynote speaker – and hopefully at some unique locations. We’ve informally spoken with several of our corporate partners and many are willing to host us at their facilities for these networking events. (See info about our August meeting below.)
Next, we are structuring our year by breaking each quarter into a specific focus or theme for our members. For instance, our Q1 (July, August & September) will focus on Communication. Our July speaker, Gary Purece, embodies that topic with “Why Your Words Matter”. Our August 18th event is a “field trip” to Plantronics in Scotts Valley. Plantronics specializes in telephone headsets – definitely communication! And our September speaker Cynthia Riggs, will present about building your own “One Page Business Plan” – being able to communicate it effectively. Ms. Riggs is a resource that has been made available to us as part of our National NAWBO affiliation. Our Q2 (October – December) will focus on Finance related topics – stay tuned!
Finally, there will be more opportunities to share your expertise with NAWBO-SV! We will be asking for member input and a few volunteer hours during the year to assist on committees and special projects. The beauty of this group is that every member of our organization has a unique skill set, and we’d like to share those within our membership. One way we’d like to do that is to encourage more member attendance at monthly meetings. Each of you has paid your dues and chosen to make NAWBO a part of your network. Let’s all come together monthly and share our unique ideas. And while we’re at it, bring a friend. Guests will be invited to come to two meetings and then asked to commit to membership. A robust membership and attendance at meetings strengthens everyone’s membership. One way to commit to meetings and get them calendared is to purchase the annual pass for meetings if you are an active member. It’s a member benefit to enjoy. At $425 to prepay the year, you essentially get 2 free meetings. And who doesn’t like FREE? For more information, contact our office at info@nawbo-sv.org.
We have plenty of other exciting things in the works this year and will share them as soon as they are finalized. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to work with an amazing board of directors and all of the members of our organization. Thank you for being a member. We look forward to hearing your ideas for the upcoming year. If there’s anything that I can do to enhance your member experience, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Fondly,
Monika Miles, 2015-2016 President, NAWBO-SV